Overcoming the challenges we face in education

As leaders we face some of the most significant challenges seen in education. We are at a pivotal time to shape the educational landscape and direction that provides the opportunity to influence a generation far broader reaching then our own temporary custody within individual schools.

The two most significant challenges we face are those provided by the uncertainties of school funding and the need to ensure a deep-rooted focus on recruitment and retention. The question remains what can we do to address these areas that has an impact in all our schools and will we be in a stronger position standing individually or through working in collaboration?

Recruitment and retention – the quality of education is defined not by the amount of time in the classroom or the size of the class but most importantly by the quality of instruction. The defining factor remains the quality of learning, teaching and leadership to ensure progress and that every child makes the most of their potential. Through working together we have the opportunity to develop strategies for professional learning from the “cradle to grave” and ensure that our schools actively track, engage and provide opportunities for talent management and succession planning at all levels.

Financial uncertainty – the one thing that is clear is that there will be continued change and uncertainty within educational finances. We will face these in isolation with potentially catastrophic effects in that some schools may cease to exist or we have the opportunity to ask ourselves what we can do differently or more effectively by working together. This may include contracts, services, capital development, income generation and staffing.

Underlying this is a commitment to looking to embed and develop the school-led system so that there is a strength of voice when we stand together. Currently there is a risk that we are susceptible to political winds of change and we need to overcome this through helping shape our own destiny. We are challenged to establish a way of working in “accountable collaboration” underpinned by peer review, joint curriculum development and defining a shared strategy, vision and direction.
It is here that we have to take a leap of faith, to have the strength and moral conviction to find a path through the challenges that lie ahead. We simply owe it to ourselves, our students and the school communities we serve to find new ways of working together with creativity, commitment and a shared vision and direction. I am sure that if we invest the time and energy to get this right working in a multi-academy trust can achieve this vision and direction.

So it is time to face the challenges and uncertainties head on and discover new ways to solve these challenges standing stronger and better together. Are you ready for the journey?

]]>https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/better-together/feed/0robcarter201288935.jpgEverybody’s free to wear sunscreen https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2017/01/29/everybodys-free-to-wear-sunscreen/
https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2017/01/29/everybodys-free-to-wear-sunscreen/#respondSun, 29 Jan 2017 23:05:56 +0000http://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2017/01/29/everybodys-free-to-wear-sunscreen/bowelbabe: For me my life didn’t change at 4pm on an idle Tuesday, it was 7pm on an idle Thursday just before Christmas 2016…… I’m the perfect example of a text book hypochondriac, one that immediately think dizziness means a brain tumour, a cough means lung cancer, and blood in the stools…]]>

I’ve known Deborah long enough to say that when she wants something – she can get it done. Let’s support her on her journey!

For me my life didn’t change at 4pm on an idle Tuesday, it was 7pm on an idle Thursday just before Christmas 2016……

I’m the perfect example of a text book hypochondriac, one that immediately think dizziness means a brain tumour, a cough means lung cancer, and blood in the stools means Bowel cancer. However years of CBT has meant that I’ve learnt to rationalise every ailment – including the last year of a change in bowel habbits that I put down to too much wine, a new job and stress of trying to be that full time working ‘super mum’.

If only for once someone believed me earlier that I wasn’t ‘crying wolf’ – when in my normal nervous GP ‘question time’ I tell the doctor I think I have bowel cancer – I’m actually laughed at – not once but 3 times over the course of 6 months!…

Some thoughts and notes from the recent conference on leadership in Birmingham. A few questions to consider.

What feeds, develops and challenges you as a leader?

How are you committed to continuing to grow and learn?

What will you to have a relentless focus on simplicity and improvement?

We can’t have a diet of junk food and need to be broad and balanced in what we eat and drink. Perhaps we need the same exercise and commitment in our leadership development. So thanks to those that shared in the journey and I hope we can all find a meaningful way to share the experience when we return to the pace of life in school.

I’m writing this on Tuesday night with a heavy heart after the terrorist attacks in Brussels today.

There’s a somber tone to the world. One of despair. One of hurt. One of fear.

And I can’t seem to shake the fact that this tragedy occurred right as we’re about to enter the Easter Triduum — Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. — The pinnacle of our faith. Paradoxcallythe most sorrowful, and yet most joyful occasions.

But today, there is a palpable sadness, blanketed over the global community. Which reminded me of the darkness that covered the earth at noon on Good Friday, as Jesus was hanging on the cross, right before He died.

]]>https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/one-of-seven/feed/0Featured Image -- 585robcarter2012Do you want to be a mechanic or a surgeon?https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/do-you-want-to-be-a-mechanic-or-a-surgeon/
https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/do-you-want-to-be-a-mechanic-or-a-surgeon/#commentsMon, 31 Aug 2015 19:52:19 +0000http://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/?p=564Continue reading Do you want to be a mechanic or a surgeon?]]>
Like many of those preparing for the dawn of a new term I am eagerly anticipating getting back into the routine of school life. As part of this most schools kick off the school year with some pre-season training (or an INSET day or two!). My youngest daughter was easily convinced for a while that this in fact was an INSECT day where teachers would be set free to explore the world around them…

So what could be happening during this time? I hope most schools worth their salt do a few key things…

Celebrate the successes of the summer – personally (weddings, engagements) and professionally (results and triumphs)

Take time to welcome new staff and welcome back the trusty team

Invest in developing one another by learning in some way actively

If none of this happens at your school and you are sitting around listening to presentations ask “how could this be better use of our time?” and suggest some solutions.

I do think the routines of life are useful for us all on a very basic level and this is definitely the case in our family life. We love time together but equally benefit from the contrast and rhythm of school – in essence I look forward to going back and secretly I think my children do too…

As part of our learning as a staff I want to prompt some reflection on learning and how we can understand what is going on at a deeper level.

Would we send our car to a mechanic who knew nothing about how engines work or we be happy to be operated on by a brain surgeon who hadn’t been to medical school?

I am fairly confident, that on different levels, the answer to these questions would be a resounding no.

So why should be any different for anyone working in education to know nothing about how the brain works and functions?

“How brains are built”

“Optimising the Performance of the Human Mind”

“Opera Singer sings during Brain Surgery”

“The learning brain”

“How playing an instrument benefits the brain”

“The human brain”

So maybe this year we should use this time to “set people free to explore the world around them” just like my daughter once thought! Welcome back and have a great year ahead…

]]>https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/do-you-want-to-be-a-mechanic-or-a-surgeon/feed/2robcarter2012AUTO-PRIX-F1-BAHRAINsurgon-7472-0696On a mission? A modern discipleship…https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/on-a-mission-a-modern-discipleship/
https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/on-a-mission-a-modern-discipleship/#respondMon, 13 Jul 2015 22:56:37 +0000http://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/on-a-mission-a-modern-discipleship/stpaulslearning: This week our theme in school is “responsibility” – the Gospel reading talks about how Jesus called the disciples together and sent them out in pairs taking nothing with them in the challenge to live their lives of faith and spread the Good News. What does this tell us as we…]]>

This week our theme in school is “responsibility” – the Gospel reading talks about how Jesus called the disciples together and sent them out in pairs taking nothing with them in the challenge to live their lives of faith and spread the Good News.

What does this tell us as we come to the end of the school year and for the summer ahead?

Let us travel light – perhaps we are weighed down by all that we want and own. The challenge is to cherish the moments, memories and people we are with not the gifts or possessions we bring back from our travels. We can sometimes live a “virtual reality” taking pictures and videos from our phones rather than seeing life in full technicolour. I remember being lucky enough to be in the Olympic Stadium the night Mo Farah won the 5000m Gold Medal at London 2012. How…

]]>https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/on-a-mission-a-modern-discipleship/feed/0robcarter2012Back in the old days… do you remember??https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/back-in-the-old-days-do-you-remember/
https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/back-in-the-old-days-do-you-remember/#respondWed, 24 Jun 2015 19:44:46 +0000http://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/back-in-the-old-days-do-you-remember/stpaulslearning: Do you remember the old days? I must be feeling a little older as sometimes I find myself looking back and seeing the past with rose-tinted spectacles… for us all it may be a time of carefree childhood, a point when we were madly in love or a sense of satisfaction and…]]>

Do you remember the old days? I must be feeling a little older as sometimes I find myself looking back and seeing the past with rose-tinted spectacles… for us all it may be a time of carefree childhood, a point when we were madly in love or a sense of satisfaction and joy in our professional lives – I think elite athletes may talk about “flow” or this may be like Ken Robinson’s “element“.

As a teacher I have this view of “life in the summer term” when I was first teaching. It was a time when you could get to do the things you had been desperate to focus on all year, you got space to think…. ultimately it felt like you had the most precious gift – “time”. I also remember it as always being sunny so perhaps it is not a memory based in great realism!

]]>https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/back-in-the-old-days-do-you-remember/feed/0robcarter2012Is it time…?https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/14/is-it-time/
https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/14/is-it-time/#commentsSun, 14 Jun 2015 22:54:18 +0000http://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/?p=543Continue reading Is it time…?]]> I have just returned from the annual trek to Birmingham to the “Inspiring Leadership Conference” which is attended by 1500 headteachers from around the country. What were the take-away messages and what will I try and do differently as a result of it? I have looked to summarise it as a top 10…

Teach less, learn more – how do we shift the focus to facilitating learning and expecting more of students at every stage and age? Remember education is the human enterprise of “paying it forward” to the next generation.

Think about FED – Future (where are we going?), Engage (how do we get people on board?), Deliver (how do we get on and do it?!) Leadership is not the reserve of the “chosen few”, we need to develop it in everyone.

How do we develop and train the brain? – finding time for plasticity and detaching from screen-time to shift from virtual reality to reality… perhaps a challenge for family life as much as education!

We need to have connected leadership and shape the system we are part of… how can we see beyond our individual needs as a school to be a strong, cohesive and compelling voice to shape the future of education.

Develop the habits to be a great school and great leader… we need to focus on classrooms not schools. The key to this is engaging discretionary effort and motivating people.

Learn from winners – what makes them unique, successful and compelling but remember to be the person you are “called to be”…

Spot the trends and understand how society changes as it informs our understanding of what makes people tick!

We need to broaden education to recognise the significance of EQ and IQ. When we accept our imperfections we are ready to learn.

The biggest challenge we face is population growth – if the human race is to survive we need creativity…

Never give up on the power of education to transform lives – deal in hope and nourish potential. “We shouldn’t throw away trash or peoples’ lives either…”

In essence it was an opportunity to reconnect with the reason that we teach, learn and lead. Having the opportunity to spend time with “world-class” people who challenge you to think learn and grow is significant. It is equally important to find the time and space to think and be challenged by people you respect, as other school leaders, whilst you are there. So thanks for the vitality, friendship, passion and care of those we got to share the journey with. I believe it is your responsibility then to do something with this… to drip-feed the messages of what you have learnt to others in a meaningful way. So come on… what are you waiting for? It’s time to be inspired!

“To be born at all is a miracle… what are you going to do with your life?” Dalai Lama

Some books to consider…

Practice Perfect – Doug Lemov

Teach like a champion – Doug Lemov

Visible learning into action – John Hattie

Student Centred Leadership – Jossey-Bass

Flip Your Classroom – Bergmann

Winners – Alistair Campbell

Nudge – Richard Thaler

Creative Schools – Ken Robinson

]]>https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/14/is-it-time/feed/1HS_WatchGuide_Watch Movements_Headerrobcarter2012HS_WatchGuide_Watch Movements_HeaderdalailamaHow can we be Christ in the world?https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/how-can-we-be-christ-in-the-world/
https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/how-can-we-be-christ-in-the-world/#respondTue, 09 Jun 2015 20:27:09 +0000http://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/how-can-we-be-christ-in-the-world/stpaulslearning: The theme for this week in school is “The Body of Christ” – we are currently deep into the season for Confirmation and First Communion celebrations which mark a new beginning in the lives of those who receive these sacraments on their Christian journey… My daughter is excitedly preparing for her…]]>

Please read the reflection for this week and say a prayer for Mohammed…

The theme for this week in school is “The Body of Christ” – we are currently deep into the season for Confirmation and First Communion celebrations which mark a new beginning in the lives of those who receive these sacraments on their Christian journey…

My daughter is excitedly preparing for her First Communion celebrations this weekend… this ranks as highly as the anticipation of the BGT final and the longing for Christmas or Birthday celebrations (pretty high overall!). Initially the focus for her was the prospect of a new dress and shoes – we had to persuade her high heels, a veil and lace gloves may be a little bit of a distraction on the day and were pleased when the Priest suggested simplicity was the way forward for them all.

The Eucharist lies at the centre of Christian faith in an act of thanksgiving. The distinctive belief in the…

]]>https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/how-can-we-be-christ-in-the-world/feed/0robcarter20125 reasons to go into teachinghttps://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/5-reasons-to-go-into-teaching/
https://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/5-reasons-to-go-into-teaching/#respondThu, 30 Oct 2014 19:26:17 +0000http://robcarter2012.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/5-reasons-to-go-into-teaching/cavmaths: This post, like many others I’ve read over the last day or so, is inspired by Rob Carter (@robcarter2012) who wrote this post on a similar topic. It’s been a joy to read the posts which have provided much needed respite from the negativity pedal in some areas, such as the…]]>

Proud to see other’s sharing their #5reasons for getting into teaching. Thanks for sharing yours Cav!

This post, like many others I’ve read over the last day or so, is inspired by Rob Carter (@robcarter2012) who wrote this post on a similar topic. It’s been a joy to read the posts which have provided much needed respite from the negativity pedal in some areas, such as the dreaded secret teacher.

1: You get paid to talk about your favourite subject.

I love maths, I love talking about it and I love doing it. All things that happen as a natural by product of my job. It keeps me engaged with a subject that had been vanishing from my life in the years between university and teacher training and it certainly keeps my brain sharp.

2. You meet a lot of amazing people.

Some jobs can be lonely, you can spend the majority of your time in a solitary relationship with your computer. Teaching is…